The fifth round of parliamentary voting to elect Prime Minister in Nepal is likely to be postponed till Sunday. It was earlier scheduled for August 18.
An informal decision to this effect was taken by the chief whips of the Maoists, Nepali Congress, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) in consultation with Speaker of the House Subash Nembang. Sources in the parties and the parliamentary secretariat told The Hindu that the Business Advisory Committee of the house would formalise the decision on Wednesday.
The reason given is the death of Maoist MP Ram Kumari Yadav on Saturday while being treated for burns in New Delhi. Ms. Yadav was also a central adviser of the Maoist party, and had lost her husband, son, and son-in-law during the “People's War”. The house will meet to pass a condolence resolution and pay its respects to her on Wednesday. In normal practice, the session is adjourned after such a resolution.
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But observers believe that the time could also be used to build an environment for political consensus. Both candidates — Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda' and NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel — have failed to secure a majority in the past four rounds of voting.
The UML parliamentary meeting on Monday decided to stick to its decision to remain neutral. With the United Democratic Madhes Front (UDMF) to remain neutral as well, there was little chance of an outcome in the fifth round if held on Wednesday.
While NC requested the UML to reconsider its decision and support Mr. Poudel, the Maoists have hinted they are willing to be “open and flexible” for national consensus. A standing committee member, Dev Gurung, told reporters that they could consider supporting a UML candidate to elect a government with two-thirds majority.
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